4 Sam Pittman replacements Arkansas can't afford to miss on

The Arkansas Razorbacks had their lunch money stolen and their heads shoved in a locker on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana. It was an ugly scene, with No. 22 Notre Dame putting a couple early-season losses in the rearview mirror with an emphatic 56-13 win over an SEC opponent. That is one benefit to being in the SEC, though. Even when your team is flaming garbage, you still get the distinguished title of "SEC opponent," as though the quality of your conference rivals somehow makes you a more fearsome football club.

As the Razorbacks suffer their third straight loss and drop a game below .500 in what's shaping up to be a long and disappointing season, head coach Sam Pittman finds himself on the hot seat. The sixth-year Arkansas head coach has a sub-.500 record in Fayetteville and there are minimal signs of progress. Actually, scratch that. There are absolutely zero signs of progress.

The Arkansas program has stagnated wholly. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, no silver lining to take away from a goose egg laid on the national stage. This was an important game for the Razorbacks — a chance to avenge narrow losses to Ole Miss and Memphis — but instead of stepping up and rekindling hopes for a productive season, the Razorbacks rolled over and played dead.

Pittman has a complicated buyout, which currently costs Arkansas $9.8 million since he's above-.500 since 2021. It would only cost $6.9 million if he was under-.500 in that span. Arkansas can just keep losing, which would set up a more optimal buyout in the offseason, but in reality, Arkansas fans don't want to wait. It's not their money. They just want to see a quality product on the field.

While Pittman has a solid recruiting class on the horizon and a decent foundation of talent right now, he clearly is not the coach to bring Arkansas out of the SEC doldrums and into the light of postseason contention. That being said, here are a few logical replacements.

Arkansas OC Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino has the requisite experience to lead the Razorbacks program. In fact, he was the Arkansas head coach from 2008-11, where he went 34-17. Petrino has two coaching stints at Louisville and he made a brief cameo at Western Kentucky upon leaving the Razorbacks, so he's a proven head coach with extensive recruitment knowledge in the southeast. A natural fit.

He is also, apparently, jockeying for the interim job internally, per CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello (h/t College Sports Wire).

"Fast forward to now, the weakness of that team is by far the defense," he said There's a lot more push for, 'maybe Petrino should be the interim head coach.' And I will tell you, from people I've spoken to, Bobby Petrino has been working them phones, baby. He's been talking a lot behind the scenes, he's positioning himself to take over the Arkansas football program, at least on an interim basis, if Sam Pittman's fired."

While it seems less than ideal for a coordinator to be actively lobbying for the head coaching gig, that's the name of the game in college football. Everything runs through donors and the athletic department. It's all about networking in college, baby. It seems like Petrino has the leg up as a result, if or when Pittman receives hisp pink slip. But just know: Arkansas was resistant to the idea before the season, and even if Petrino can worm his way into the interim role, that means very little as far as his chances to claim the full-time job title next offseason.

Arkansas DC Travis Williams

Before the season, Travis Williams was viewed as the in-house favorite to replace Pittman, at least in an interim capacity. The Arkansas defense has plainly struggled this season, and Saturday's 56-point abomination against Notre Dame won't help his case. But at the end of the day, Williams is younger than Petrino, he's a beloved figure in the locker room, and he's a major aid to Arkansas' recruitment efforts in the area.

Given the inherent challenges of drawing recruits to Fayetteville — located in the middle of a not-so-densely populated and largely rural state, with mediocre infrastructure and education — it seems important to hire someone like Williams, who can lure top defensive talent to the program and win his players over with a fiery attitude and a strong point of view.

He does not have the same track record as Petrino, but the ex-Auburn Tigers linebacker has a lengthy résumé of work as an assistant and he made a brief cameo in the NFL as a player. He's also 42, which means if he does get the job, he can grow and develop the program over time, with more patience and intention than the 64-year-old Petrino.

Florida State OC Gus Malzahn

Gus Malzahn is best-known for spending eight years as the head coach at Auburn, where he experienced tremendous success and etched his name into the program's history books. Long before then, however, all the way back in 2005, Malzahn — an upstart high school coach looking to climb the ranks — accepted the offensive coordinator position under Houston Nutt at Arkansas.

There was well-documented tension between Nutt and Malzahn, and he lef the program after a single season for an elevated position at Tulsa. Malzahn also happened to play his college football (partially) at Arkansas, so there are direct ties to the program. He's an established name in the SEC and he'd sure bring more recruiting firepower to the region. It's a hire that makes a lot of sense on the surface.

While some wonder whether Malzahn would actually consider a return to Fayetteville, it's not like Nutt is still leading the program. Malzahn has roots at the school and he's due for a proper coaching gig somewhere. Florida State's offense is off to a strong start this season (Saturday's loss notwithstanding) and Malzahn's schemes have always been ahead of the curve.

He would bring credibility to the sidelines in Fayetteville and give Arkansas fans a trustworthy voice to lead the program, hopefully, to new and better heights.

SMU HC Rhett Lashlee

If you asked Arkansas fans to pick their dream candidate to replace Pittman, a lot of them would point to SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee. An ex-Arkansas quarterback who is still only 42 years old, Lashlee has experienced tremendous early success as a first-time head coach with the Mustangs. SMU is off to a less the stellar start in 2025 compared to the incredible highs of 2024, but Lashlee put in more than a decade as an offensive coordinator at various schools before landing the top gig at SMU. He has the résumé necessary to level up at an SEC school, especially given his recruitment inroads in nearby Texas, a hotbed of elite high school football.

Lashlee is not the biggest or sexiest name linked to Arkansas in the realm of theories and rumors, but he feels like a logical and realistic replacement for Pittman. He's young, which means he can establish a long runway to lead the program. He also has strong ties to the school, which should not only inspire him to leave a cushy job at SMU, but it should also help him connect with recruits and sell them on the benefits of playing in Fayetteville.

Jumping from the ACC to the SEC is a huge adjustment, and little is guaranteed as far as success for Lashlee. But when the alternative is a 63-year-old Pittman who feels out of touch with today's game and incapable of getting Arkansas over the hump, it can't hurt to think outside the box. SMU was in the College Football Playoff last season and Lashlee no doubt appreciates a good situation in Dallas, but there's a certain level of prestige inherent to coaching in the SEC. Especially when it's your alma mater; there's a special opportunity, and one he's unlikely to turn down if the offer is strong enough.